


A Pear, a Pair, and a Sunny Day

by AllThoseOtherWorlds



Series: Fall Into Life [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Human Castiel, I really tried not to be obnoxious I swear, M/M, Vegetarians & Vegans, maybe slice of life, vegan!Cas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-17
Updated: 2014-05-17
Packaged: 2018-01-25 12:16:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1648322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllThoseOtherWorlds/pseuds/AllThoseOtherWorlds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam takes Castiel grocery shopping, and Castiel makes a few decisions about food now that he's human. Then he picks out fruit and shares some of it with Sam. Fluff, pretty much.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Pear, a Pair, and a Sunny Day

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural. I do not make money from this.**
> 
> **Comments and constructive criticisms are always welcome! Even if you didn't finish reading the piece, I'd like to know what you did and/or didn't like**
> 
> **Takes place in that happy little S9 AU we all have where there's no Gadreel and no fallen angel stuff, and they're just living in the Bunker and doing normal hunts and all that. In this AU, Sam completed the trials but he got better and didn't die from them, and Castiel sealed the angels into Heaven but had to give up his own Grace to do it. He's staying at the Bunker with Sam and Dean, obviously.**

                “I don’t understand,” Castiel frowned. “Why is Dean incapable of getting the food items?”’

                Sam laughed. “Dean may be good at cooking, but if we let him get the food we’ll end up with burger ingredients and pie, and nothing else.”

               “Hey!” Dean called from the other room. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

               “Sure, Dean,” Sam said, before turning to Cas and saying in a lower tone, “Burgers and pie are not a nutritionally balanced diet.”

               Cas nodded seriously. “And this is why you are the one to get the food.”

               “Yeah,” Sam said. “Do you want to come? Now that you’re human you’ll have to learn this stuff anyway.”

               “Okay,” Cas said, following Sam to the door. “What food is required?”

               “Just the basics,” Sam told him as they went to the car. “I’m mostly looking for vegetables, although we’ll need some milk and eggs, too.”

               Cas frowned, thinking. He may not have really considered food much as an angel, but he did remember some of the things that had concerned him during the period of time between taking on Sam’s pain and being sent to purgatory.

               “Many of the animals used for the acquisition of such products are in pain,” he said. “Are they truly necessary for human survival?”

               “I don’t think so,” Sam said. “Most people eat them, but it’s not unheard of for someone to avoid animal products. We can look for some other stuff, if you want.”

               “Thank you, Sam,” Castiel said. “I do not wish to inflict more pain than is necessary.”

               “I understand,” Sam told him. “Honestly, I don’t want to either, but Dean and I sort of grew up eating whatever we could find. There weren’t a whole lot of options, and I just never questioned it.”

               “But you have the means to question it now,” Castiel said.

               “Yeah,” Sam replied. “I guess I do.”

***

                The grocery store was a complex building, Cas decided. There were many aisles with many different food items and they all looked pretty much the same, with minor adjustments to the packaging. Cas turned to Sam, aware of the slightly bewildered expression on his face.

                “Where do we start?”

                “It’s usually best to shop around the edges of the store,” Sam told him. “That’s where most of the healthy stuff is. We need to get milk – or something like it – and I’ll get eggs for Dean at least. Then we can get vegetables and fruit.”

                Cas nodded, watching as Sam manoeuvred the cart to the far end of the store. The selection of non-animal products was apparently not something Sam was accustomed to, judging by the number of different containers they had to pull out to read labels on.

                “I am sorry if this is too much effort,” Cas said, feeling a bit guilty for making the request, but not entirely ready to withdraw it.

                “No, it’s fine Cas, really,” Sam reassured him. “I’m just new to this, is all. Dean’s still got to rest that ankle he sprained anyway, so we’ve got time to figure this out before we have to go hunting again.”

                “Thank you,” Cas said quietly before reaching for a carton of something called “tofu”.

                “Anytime,” Sam said, smiling at him.

                Cas smiled in return.

                Eventually, they found most of what they were looking for, and all that was left to get was produce. They took the cart to that section of the store and Cas was relieved that, even if he didn’t know how they would taste as food, he at least _recognized_ many of these items. Sam turned to him. “I’m going to get some of the vegetables we use a lot, but if there’s anything else you want to try, just let me know, okay?”

                Cas nodded and set out to explore. There were bananas, oranges, more types of apples than Cas thought was strictly necessary – they were all roughly the same plant, right? – and many other types of fruit from around the world.

                Although he was familiar with the plants themselves, he had yet to actually eat many of them. He hadn’t had much occasion to eat before returning to the bunker, and in the handful of days he’d been back his meals had mostly consisted of some sort of cereal Sam had, burgers and other main dishes provided by Dean, and some granola bars that had been lying around the bunker. Sam had complained about the lack of decent food for most of the week before taking it upon himself to fix the problem.

                He was staring in bewilderment at the shelves in front of him when a little girl drew his attention. She appeared to be about six years of age, and was watching him with an intensity he was unused to seeing outside of angels and their fallen brethren.

                “Do you need help?” she asked. “Mom said I should help people if they need it.”

                “No, no,” he assured her. “I’m fine. I just need to find some fruit to buy.”

                “Oh,” she said, considering his words. “I like pears. Do you like pears?”

                “I have never tried a pear,” he told her solemnly.

                She stared at him. “Really? Why not?”

                He hesitated, unsure how to respond. Finally, he settled for a fairly ambiguous response. “I have never had occasion to.”

                “Oh.” She didn’t seem completely satisfied with the answer, but also didn’t seem likely to push the matter.

                He stared at the fruit a while longer before turning and asking her, “What do mangos taste like?”

                She considered. “Sort of bright and happy. I had them in a smoothie once.”

                “Smoothie?”

                She stared at him. “You put fruit and ice and stuff in a blender and mix it up.” The expression on her young face implied that this was basic knowledge, and Castiel felt a flush of embarrassment at having been caught in his ignorance.

                He was just about to inquire as to the flavour of bananas when he heard an adult’s voice from behind him.

                “Come on Alana, time to go.” A man approached with a cart like the one Sam had, but with more food in it. He turned to the girl, smiling but with a warning in his voice. “You know not to talk to strangers, Alana. Come on, let’s go.”

                The girl, who had turned to watch the other man, gave her attention back to Castiel for a moment.

                “I have to go now,” she told him. “Good luck with the fruit.”

                With that, she turned to follow the man to one of the check-out lines near the front of the building and left Castiel alone once again with the produce.

                Ultimately, he selected a mango, two different kinds of pears – just in case they were different – and a small grouping of bananas. Mission complete, he gathered the plastic, fruit-filled bags in his hands and went to find Sam.

***

                Sam had been pleased with Castiel’s selection of fruits, and had added them to their purchase without further comment. They unloaded the fruit along with the rest of the items upon returning to the Bunker, although they had to deal with Dean griping about Sam’s purchasing choices.

                “ _Almond milk?_ Seriously, dude?” Dean asked, holding up a carton with “Silk” emblazoned on the front.

                “It’s healthier, and Cas wants to avoid animal products where he can” Sam replied primly. “Besides, I’ve heard this stuff tastes sweeter than normal milk – you’ll like it.”

                “Whatever,” Dean said. “Why’re you avoiding that stuff anyway, Cas? You liked burgers fine when you met Famine, and you made us meat sandwiches that one time.”

                Cas shrugged. “After everything, I do not wish to cause more harm than is necessary.” In truth, Famine had been affecting Jimmy, not Castiel’s own hunger, and his choice of sandwiches was based on what little he’d seen the Winchesters eat. It was only now that he was human that he had to consider the consequences of those items, and he found that after all the pain he had inadvertently caused, he had no desire to add any more on top of it.

                Dean looked like he was tempted to roll his eyes, but he let the issue slide and they finished putting the groceries away in peace. When they were done, Sam turned to Cas.

                “Getting hungry at all, Cas?” he asked. “We should try some of the fruit you bought. I’ll show you how to cut it properly.”

                “Okay,” Castiel said. He knew he would need to understand the specifics of food preparation as well as selection, if he wanted to be able to provide for himself.

                This time Dean did roll his eyes, and he smirked at them before speaking. “You two have fun geeking out over fruit and crap if you want, but _I’m_ going to go do some work on the Impala.”

                Sam nodded, and called out to him as he left the room. “Just watch your ankle, Jerk!”

                Dean’s reply was lost in the sound of the less-than-oiled door leading to the Bunker’s garage.

                “So,” Sam said, gesturing to the bowl of fruit now sitting on the counter. “What do you want to try first?”

                Cas hesitated before remembering the little girl’s advice, and having nothing else to go on, he pointed to one of the pears.

                “Okay,” Sam said, taking it and placing it on a plate. “We’ll cut it on a place so we don’t hurt the counter, okay? Now, how do you want to do this?”

                “Aren’t you the one who knows how to cut the fruit?” Castiel asked, confused.

                Sam laughed. “No, I meant the teaching. Do you want to watch me cut it, or do you want me to tell you how, or what?”

                “Oh,” Cas said, thinking. “I should probably try to do it myself.”

                In the end, Sam wound up standing behind Castiel and guiding his hands as they cut the fruit. Cas enjoyed standing so close to Sam, and was disappointed when the pear had been entirely chopped up.

                “Do you want to eat it with me?” he asked. “I do not know if I’m hungry enough to consume the entire fruit.”

                “Sure,” Sam smiled. “Want to go outside to eat it? It’s pretty nice out.”

                “Okay,” Cas agreed, and they headed out to sit on one of the rocks outside the bunker.

                They stayed there for a while, sitting in the sun and enjoying the warmth, the fruit, and each other’s company.

                Castiel decided that he liked pears very much, but that he liked Sam’s company even more.


End file.
